It's no secret that folks aren't happy with Washington, D.C., career politicians -- both Democrats and Republicans -- have ignored the best interests of our country, allowed the debt to spiral out of control, and stripped the states of their rightful power.

Congress finally made some semblance of an effort to work together a couple of weeks ago in passing a two-year budget agreement which will preclude the possibility of another government shutdown this year. That's the good news. The bad news is that with the agreement completed, lawmakers in Washington appear to be done with serious deficit reduction for the foreseeable future. Those members of Congress who believe the country needs to address the horrid deficits plaguing the country apparently have little leverage against their colleagues, who are apparently satisfied with the plan cobbled together by Republican Paul Ryan and ...

In November, 23 members and committee chairs of the Kershaw County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) were present for a four hour leadership retreat seminar.

A crashed car, hearse and a safety banner in front of the Lugoff Fire Department (LFD) on U.S. 1 in Lugoff are a way of showing the agency's support for the statewide "Sober or Slammer" highway safety campaign. The car and banner also serve as a reminder to drivers of the dangers of unsafe driving.

Kershaw County School District (KCSD) partnered with the Camden Walmart and the United Way of Kershaw County to collect toys and coats for needy children through Walmart's Fill a Truck campaign. Volunteers from all three organizations manned the cardboard trucks in the store over three weekends in December to encourage Walmart shoppers to participate. The results were outstanding with enough items donated to benefit over 80 KCSD students as well as others who were being served through the Toys for Tots programs. Walmart employees themselves purchased three shopping carts worth of items.

Many, many years ago, Tom and Cyndi Fussell started a tradition of serving the hungry and homeless on Thanksgiving Day out of their restaurant in Camden. Kelly and I were fortunate to join them some years later, and -- several years ago -- formed a group called Kershaw County Cares to continue the tradition started by Tom and Cyndi. This year, more than 100 volunteers gave up part of their Thanksgiving and Christmas days to come and prepare, serve and deliver more than 1,450 meals to Kershaw County's less fortunate!

Baron DeKalb Elementary School (BDK) Student Council recently hosted a Carolina vs. Clemson canned food drive challenge. The BDK Student Council hosted the Carolina vs. Clemson Food Drive to promote teamwork, show community spirit, and to address local hunger issues. Donations were delivered to the Food for the Soul Soup Kitchen and to other families in need. "The Carolina vs. Clemson Challenge was a fun way to show people in our community that we care," Student Council member Joshua Vasquez said.